Wrestling - Women’s Freestyle 48kg Results
Gold - Carol Huynh, Canada
Silver - Chiharu Icho, Japan
Bronze - Mariya Stadnyk, Azerbaijan
Bronze - Irini Merleni, Ukraine
5 - Tatyana Bakatyuk, Kazakhstan
5 - Clarissa Chun, United States of America
7 - Vanessa Zohra Boubryemm, France
8 - Kim Hyungjoo, South Korea
9 - Ingrid Medrano, El Salvador
10 - Estera Dobre, Romania
BEIJING (AP) - Sara McMann was good enough for silver in the first Olympics with women’s wrestling. She wasn’t good enough to make this U.S. women’s team.
Patricia Miranda took home a bronze from Athens in 2004 yet, like McMann, was beaten in the U.S. trials two months ago. So was two-time world champion Kristie Marano.
That’s a lot of potential medals lost, and a whole lot of pressure on the wrestlers in Beijing who are replacing them, to match or surpass the two medals won in four weight classes in 2004.
Ask the wrestlers who were good enough to get here, and they’ll tell you that energy and enthusiasm can be as important as experience in a sport that remains in its infancy. One, too, that many Americans have never seen in person since so few colleges and high schools offer the sport.
The American women hit the mats starting Saturday for the two-day Olympic competition, with Clarissa Chun (48 kilograms) and Marcie Van Dusen (55 kg) up first. Randi Miller (63 kg) and Ali Bernard (72 kg), both wrestling in their first senior-level world championship, go on Sunday.
“The names may change, but the results must stay the same,” U.S. coach Terry Steiner said. “Since the last Olympics, we’ve had four more years [to build]. … We are ready. We are very capable.”
This retooled team, with none of the four Olympians from Athens, may get a good idea Saturday of how it will do.
Chun, nearly 27, could never seem to get past Miranda, but dominated her longtime nemesis in the U.S. trials. That makes her confident she can make a big push in a weight class controlled by two-time world champion Chiharu Icho of Japan since she lost the gold to Ukraine’s Irini Merlini in Athens.
“I’m going to close everything out, close out the bright lights, I’m not going to look for anyone in the stands,” said Chun, who competed in Hawaii for one of the few high schools with girls wrestling. “I’m going to go on that wrestling mat like I did for trials.”
Her coach, Keith Wilson, is certain what will happen if she does.
“I don’t think they’re ready for the level she’s bringing,” Wilson said. “I don’t think, honestly, there’s too many girls right now that, when she’s wrestling her best, bring the game she brings.”
Chun, who is 4-foot-11, has been mistaken for a gymnast several times and a judo team member in the Olympic Village, but no one has pegged her as a wrestler.
“They’re profiling me,” she said, laughing.
From NBC.com
Clarissa has safely made it to Beijing. She will not be able to send out shirt orders for a few weeks. We apologize for the inconvience, but check back on the site for updates.
It was our week off the mat, in between our two training camps. Our team leader, Stan Zeamer planned a great get away for the Olympic team, coaches and training partners. We went up to Breckenridge where we had an itinerary of fun activities.
Probably one of the most fun and grueling activities planned was to hike up Quandary Peak, a 14,265 ft mountain. Our day started off early at 7:45 am. We started hiking on a trail, climbing over rocks and trees that had fallen over, then suddenly the trail would end or disappear. We started to feel a bit lost, thinking we have to go more to the right and not so much up yet. We got through to the top of that little start area, to find out that we started up the wrong way. We had hit dirt road. We thought we knew where this peak was, so we walked down the dirt road to another mountain. Luckily there was a Colorado Springs Utilities truck and we got directions to where Quandary Peak was. We were so close to it, we back tracked back up the dirt road and started hiking. We were lost for about 2 hours.
The trail started off nice, with lush green trees around and a soft dirt path. That didn’t last too long before we had hit rocks. Rocks everywhere, big rocks and little rocks, there was a trail of rocks and you could tell because the smaller rocks were the trail and after a while at some points they were all the same size and you knew but to just go straight up. As I was getting closer to the top of the mountain, I definately could feel the altitude or lack of air up there. My fingers were swollen like sausages and there were times where I felt light headed from standing up too fast. We took some breaks the closer we got up. People would pass us on their way back down and they would tell us how far we were from the top. There were times were I felt discouraged and wondered if I was going to make it to the top. But when eight year old kids were hiking back down, that motivated me. If eight year olds were hiking this mountain, then I have to make it to the top!
I made it to the top! The whole team made it to the top! It was my first time hiking a 14er. I could not have done it alone. It was an amazing feeling being on top of that mountain. It was breathtaking and beautiful! It was a great time to reflect. I was exhausted and I was not ready to hike back down. Why didn’t anyone carry hand gliding equipment with them, so that we could hand glide back to Breckenridge? That seemed like a more fun thing to do than hike back down. We stayed at the top for an hour or so and headed back down. It took us a total of about 8 and a half hours to go up and down the mountain, from the time we got lost and including our break at the top. We were very fortunate to have had great weather the whole day. We couldn’t have picked a better day to hike up Quandary Peak.
Chun, a 26-year-old from Kapolei, is Hawai’i’s newest Olympian after she won the women’s freestyle wrestling 105.5-pound division at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling and Judo.
A year ago Chun rededicated herself to the sport that she loved and a coach that saw a world of potential in her.
However, the 1999 Roosevelt graduate began the journey that will take her to Beijing long before that.
Chun took up judo at the now-defunct YBA Judo Club in Honolulu when she was 7. It wasn’t until her junior year at Roosevelt that she began wrestling.
“I was actually on the swimming, water polo and judo teams,” said Chun, who qualified for the state swimming championships as a sophomore. “I was a sophomore and it was kind of heartbreaking to see freshmen winning, you know. It was hard for me.”
Before girls wrestling was added as a high school sport, it was not uncommon for girls to wrestle on the boys team, Chun said.
“Wrestling was something new, so I just thought I’d try it out and I loved it from the start,” she said.
Chun, who is the first wrestler from Hawai’i to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team, also captured a state title in 1998, the first year girls wrestling was a sanctioned sport.
After winning state titles in her junior and senior seasons, Chun took a leap of faith that led her to Marshall, Mo., nearly 4,000 miles from home.
She accepted a partial scholarship from Missouri Valley College, which was starting a women’s wrestling program.
“They sent me a scholarship packet in June,” Chun recalled. “Prior to that I didn’t plan on going anywhere for wrestling. I mean, I had no idea about freestyle wrestling.”
Missouri Valley presented a unique opportunity.
“The timing was perfect. If that program didn’t open up at that time, who knows if I would have been here right now,” Chun said.
After three years at Missouri Valley, Chun made the move in 2002 to Colorado Springs, Colo., home to the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Women’s wrestling had just gained Olympic recognition, in time for the 2004 Summer Games and Chun immediately set her sights on Athens.
“They had a training camp in May. Just to see basically who was serious about the program,” Chun said. “I filled out applications for residency and I moved in June.”
Like many athletes, Chun experienced her share of heartbreak, none worse than losing in the finals of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
“I’ve been competitive since I was 7,” Chun said. “So I never like to lose, but that was tough.”
Training and living at the OTC took its toll, too.
“When all you do is train; things can get stagnant,” Chun said. “There are a lot of people, all with the same goals, who are all serious about training.”
Despite experiencing her share of success - she won the University Nationals in 2001, 2003 and 2004 in addition to another gold at the 2006 U.S. Senior Nationals - Chun wanted more.
“I didn’t do so well at the 2007 World Team Trials,” she said. “I knew that I needed to change something.”
That’s when she got reacquainted with Keith Wilson.
“He actually has been coaching me since 2002, but I totally committed myself to training with him this past year,” Chun said.
Wilson, a volunteer coach at the OTC, runs the Colorado Fight Factory, a mixed martial arts training facility in Colorado Springs.
“When I first saw her, she was this little girl,” Wilson recalled. “She was undefined physically and she hadn’t been in a world class level of sport. I knew she had the potential to be great then.
“I told Clarissa from day one that she has natural, God-given ability and there’s not a girl that can hold a candle to you. You’ve been given a gift, but you’re wasting it if you’re not using it the right way,” Wilson said.
As her training continued, the improvements came.
“At (senior) Nationals (in April), she almost put everything together,” Wilson said. “There she got a taste of it. She believed for the first time that she was good enough.”
Chun finished fourth at the tournament, losing to Patricia Miranda, who was also the wrestler that beat her for the Olympic berth in 2004.
“You know to Miranda’s credit, if not for her, Clarissa wouldn’t be at that level now,” Wilson said. “(Chun) had to raise her game just to compete with Miranda. She pushed her to excel her game and made her work on the areas where she was weak.”
Despite beating Miranda just once back in 2002, Chun’s confidence was sky-high heading into the trials and it showed in her early matches.
Chun disposed of contenders such as Sara Fulp-Allen, the 2005 Senior National champion, and Mary Kelly, who was ninth at the 2006 World Championships, to set up a rematch with Miranda in the best-of-three finals. Chun only needed two.
“It’s been coming. She’s been close. Sometimes when a bad call happens, Clarissa used to get flustered and loses focus,” Wilson said. “It finally stuck. She beat one of the top competitors in women’s wrestling in the world. She was a step ahead the whole time; she brought it to a different level. She’s ready now to compete on the international level, in the big show in the Olympics and she proved that this weekend.”
Chun, who was swarmed by the media following her upset victory, calls the experience surreal.
“I’m still in shock,” she said. “I still can’t believe it. I want to watch the video because half of me doesn’t even know what happened.”
Article courtesy of Honolulu Advertiser
My name is Clarissa Chun. I recently made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for womens wrestling in the 48 kilogram weight class. Earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team has meant more to me than anything else. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, friends, and especially my coaches. They have truly helped me get to the top by believing in my potential to acheive my dreams in wrestling.
I am of half Chinese, half Japanese decent. Therefore, this Olympic season in Beijing is very special to my family as well as myself. It would be very nice to be able to bring my family to where our ancestors came from and would definitely bring this journey full circle for all of them.
Tori Adams, a teammate and good friend of mine has been a great moral supporter during my wrestling career. Keith Wilson, my wrestling coach and Drew Lawrence, my strength and conditioning coach have been by my side to help me train to obtain my dream: to become an Olympian. I would like to put all the years of hard work and training together to compete at my best on August 16th. Therefore, being able to have my wrestling coach with me at the biggest stage in my wrestling career would make it complete for both of us.
It would mean a lot to me to be able to have my support system with me in Beijing as I compete in the Olympics. I humbly ask for your support. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Clarissa Chun
2008 US Olympian
48 kg Womens Wrestling
